Cricket fans have to wait just another week before the ICC T20 World Cup kicks-off in Australia. The T20 World Cup will provide close to a month of non-stop exciting T20 action as the best T20 teams in the world and a fantastic array of T20 stars showcase their skills down under as they look to help their country become the next T20 World Cup champions.
The first game of the T20 World Cup starts on 16 Oct and the T20 World Cup final takes place on 13 Nov. Our betting experts look at the first four games scheduled for the T20 World Cup, look at the betting odds and share their predictions below.
Sri Lanka vs. Namibia
Sri Lanka will take on Namibia in the opening game of the T20 World Cup which is part of the First Round Group A qualifiers. The match will take place at Geelong, Victoria and it will be an important game for both countries as the winner who tops the group makes their way to the official T20 group stage qualifiers.
If you know anything about cricket you know that Namibia is still trying to establish itself as a cricket worthy nation whereas Sri Lanka are an accomplished side even though their T20 form in the last few years has been below average.
Bet365 has Sri Lanka as huge betting favorites with odds of 1.083 while Namibia are massive underdogs with odds of 8.0. Sri Lanka are just too powerful for Namibia and we expect the Lankans to cruise to victory.
UAE vs. Netherlands
The second game in the First Round Group A qualifiers will see a more evenly matched contest as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) take on the Netherlands. These two countries are not T20 powerhouses by any means but on paper both sides look to be rather evenly matched and should provide cricket fans with a close match.
Bookmakers tend to agree with our analysis as the betting odds for this match are even at this stage with both UAE and the Netherlands having odds of 1.90. The UAE tends to play a lot better when they play in hot and humid conditions as the pitch tends to favour their spinners.
The track at Geelong will offer a lot of pace and bounce and we believe this will play a big factor in the outcome for this game. The pace and swing on offer in Geelong will be more suitable to the tall and strong Dutch pacers and could cause problems for the UAE batsmen.
While the bookmakers have the teams evenly matched on the betting odds, our betting experts believe that the Netherlands has a slight edge over the UAE and should come out on the winning side.
West Indies vs. Scotland
If you are looking for a David vs. Goliath battle, then look no further than the West Indies vs. Scotland encounter. The West Indies should not be in this position, playing in a First Round Group A qualifier but a poor run of form in T20 cricket has caused them to fight for a place in the T20 World Cup.
Bookmakers have backed the West Indies to come out as victors and have them as heavy favorites with odds of 1.083 while Scotland are the underdogs with odds of 8.0. On paper, it looks an easy call as the West Indies T20 line-up are filled with some of the biggest stars on the global T20 circuit.
Scotland we think are stronger than Namibia and the UAE but are definitely not stronger than the West Indies. One thing that may hamper the West Indies and aid the Scotts are the conditions as this match is set to take place in Hobart, Tasmania where the conditions will offer a lot of swing and make it difficult for the batsmen.
The West Indies have shown in the past that they can struggle against quality swing bowling. If you are looking for a possible upset in the T20 World Cup and want to take a risk, then put your money on Scotland to win!
Zimbabwe vs. Ireland
Zimbabwe vs. Ireland is a more evenly contested T20 World Cup match as both sides have a strong line-up of players. The bookmakers currently have both sides with odds of 1.90 and our experts agree with the odds as this can be a hard game to call correctly as the two sides are evenly matched.
Zimbabwe has a strong batting line-up but Ireland has a good bowling line-up. The bowling line-up for Zimbabwe isn’t very impressive while the batting for Ireland can definitely improve. This match will also take place in Hobart and we think the conditions might suit Ireland a little more and hence we suggest putting your money on Ireland for this one!
